Taking the Ducks to Market: A bronze figural group, after the model by Leonid Posen (1849-1921), cast by Woerffel, circa 1890

brown patina, inscribed 'Sculp. L. Posene', with foundry mark, on a plush covered plinth

Excellent condition. Could do with a professional clean.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The sculptor Leonid Vladimirovich Posen is remembered predominantly for his monuments to literary figures Gogol and Ivan Kotliarevsky in Poltava, Ukraine.  As a child, he modelled his first sculptures from mouldy bread; as an adult, Posen worked mostly in wax.  He began his artistic self-education by copying the works of Lieberich and Lanceray before moving onto sculpting portraits from life.  Compared to his artistic predecessors, Posen’s sculptures are less dramatic.  Unlike Lieberich, whose focus was hunting, or Lanceray, whose obsession was horses, Posen made the peasant the centre of his art.  Posen’s sculptures, including the present lot, reject heroic iconography in favour of representing the humble and humane. 

Posen studied Law, never abandoned the profession and worked in the Russian judicial system for more than forty years.  He pursued the arts independently and was self-taught in drawing and sculpture, but once the Peredvizhniki movement accepted him as one of their own he took part in nearly all their exhibitions.  When the Russian Academy of Arts invited Posen to become a member, he initially declined, citing not having had a formal education in the arts.  Thus he was dedicated to Law and Art alike but also treasured his official status as an amateur, even as his artistic peers recognised his sculptures for their poised truthfulness and their superb technical execution.